Electric flat-iron.



A. R. KING. ELECTRIC FLAT IRON.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. l0| I9U Patented Dec. 11, 1917.

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Specification of .Letters fiatcnt.

Patented Dec. ii, 1917.

Application filed February 16, 1917". Serial Ito. 1423741.

To all whom may concern." Be it known that I, ABEL-n KING, a citizen of the United States or America, and a resident of New York,

county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Electric Flat-Irons, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to electric heating appliance-s and has special reference to electrically heated fiat irons which are provided with cut-out switches for interrupting the supply of energy when the iron is not in use. I

One object of my invention is to provide a device of the aforesaid character that shall be simple and durable in construction, attractive in appearance and reliable in operation.

Another object is to provide a cut-out switch for closing the circuit or" the heating element only when the iron is in use as determined by a downward pressure, exerted on the handle.

Another object is to provide a particularly compact cut-out for electric irons which does not necessitate the gripping oi' the handie by the user and which does not encumbe! the exterior of either the body or the handle of the iron.

Still another object is to provide a cut-out which cannot readily be rendered inoperative.

In order that my invention may be thoroughl' understood 1 will now proceed to descri "e the same in the following specificationand then point out the novel features thereof in appended claims.-

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a partially sectional elevation of anelectric fiat iron arranged and constructed in accordance with my invention and constituting an embodiment thereof.

Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram showing the relation between the cutout switch and the heating element.

Fig. 3 is a detail view corresponding to a ortion of Fig. 1 and showing a modified orm of cut-out switch which is adapted to separate the contacts more rapidly when pressure is relieved from the handle and also more widely to prevent arcing at the contacts and insure the interruption of the circurt In Figs. 1 and 2,l0 designates the base or" the iron having a smoothing surface 11, and 12 designates the body section which is superposed with the heating unit or element 13 between the two.- Any suitable heating element may be employed such as, for eX- ample, that diagrammatically represented in Fig. 2.

The body section 12 is provided with a recess lent the top iii-which is disposed a cutout switch composed of a resilient contact 15. and a cooperating stationary contact 16.

Extending upwardly from the body section 12 are studs 17 and 18 to which a handle 19 is connected. A shell or casing 20 of sheet metal is mounted on the base 10 and incloses the body section and the heating element. It is provided with openings 21 and 22 through which the studsl? and 18 extend and a central hole 23 opposite the.

resilient contact 15.

The handle comprises a yoke 24 through which the studs 17 and 18 extend, and helical springs 25 and, 26 are interposed between the yoke and the shell and surrounding the studs. They tend to elevate the handle and to hold the yoke against nuts or enlargements 27 and 28 which are aliixed to the studs near their upper ends.

Sleeves 29 and 30 surround the studs and guide the springs 25 and 26 which are coiled upon the sleeves.

The arrangement of parts is such that the handle is pressed downwardly toward the shell and compresses the springs 25 and 26 when the iron is in use.

A push button or actuator 31 is adjust/ably mounted on the yoke 24 in position to extend through the opening 23 in the shell and actuate the contact member 15.

in the structure shown, the push button is formed of insulating material and is mounted on the lower end of a screw 32 which extends through a tapped hole 33 in the shell and is held in place by a lock nut 34:.

The terminal structure is designated"35 and may be of any suitable form.

The push button 31 is adjusted to such position that when the iron is in use the downward pressure on the handle forces the movable contact 15' into engagement with the stationary contact 16 and closes the circuit through the heating element as indicated in Fig. 2.

In order to insure the interruption of the circuit for irons of varying sizes when used arrangement comprises a movable contact member 36 which is hinge-connected to a fixed terminal 37 by a fiexible conducting Cir section 38 or some other suitable means, and is acted upon by a spring 39 which tends to move the contact away from its cotiperating stationary contact &0. A. spring 41 tends to swing the inner end of the contact 36, which is closest to the flexible hinge section, downwardly and thereby widely separate the contacting parts. The point 42 where the c0ntact is engaged by the spring 39, constitutes a pivot and since the push button 31 engages the contact 36 on the opposite side of the pivot 42 from the spring 41, a relatively small movement of the push button in a downward direction (such as is efiected when the hand of the user is pressed downwardly on the handle 19) closes the contact members and completes the circuit for the heating element.

Another advantage of my iron arises from the fact that the operator may use it without pressing down on the handle and thus avoid the overheating of the iron in service. This is particularly desirable when the iron is used for light work. On the other hand, by merely pressing downwardly on the ham dle, the circuit is closed and the heater energizedand inasmuch as the downward pressure is naturally exerted and is useful in pressing, particularly for heavy work where the energization of the iron is desirable, it is evident that the iron functions in a particularly desirable way.

Furthermore, when the hand is lifted from the handle, the current is cut oii and the iron denergized, thereby avoiding the danger of overheating and largely eliminating the fire risk.

That I claim is:

1. An electric flat iron comprising a base, a heating element, a cut-out switch, a unitarv handle structure having a yoke yieldingly attached to the base and a handle grip fixed relative to the yoke, and a downwardly extending projection on the yoke adapted to Copies of this patent may obtained for five 4 matc es actuate the cut-out switch when downward pressure is exerted on the handle.

2. An electric fiat iron comprising a base, a heating element, a shell or casing,-a cutout switch mounted within the casing, a

handle, yieldingly attached to the base, and

ments, and a push button on the yoke adapt-' ed to extend through the shell and control the cut-out switch.

4. An electric flat iron comprising a base, a body, an interposed heating element, a shell or casing, a cut-out switch mounted on the body within the casing, a pair of spaced studs extending upwardly from the base, a handle having a yoke mounted to move up and down on the studs, enlargements on the studs for limiting the upward movement of the yoke, springs tending to elevate the handle and to hold the yoke against enlargements, and a push button adjustably secured to the yoke and arranged to extend through the shell and to actuate the cut-out switch when the iron is in use.

5. An electric flat iron comprising a base, a body, an interposed heating element, a shell or casing, a cut-out switch mounted on the body within the casing, a pair of spaced studs extending upwardly from the base, a handle having a yoke mounted to move up and down on the studs, enlargements on the studs for limiting the upward movement of the yoke, springs tending to elevate the handle and to hold the yoke against enlargements, and a. push button adj ustably secured to the yoke and arranged to extend through the shell and to actuate the cut-out switch when a downward pressure is exerted on the handle suiiicient to compress the handle elevating springs. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of February-1917.

ADELE ROCKEFELLER KING.

cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. '13, 

